'On Photographic Beings' at The Latvian National Museum of Art
ByJenevieve KokImage courtesy of The Latvian National Museum of Art
The Latvian National Museum of Art presented a group exhibition 'On Photographic Beings' from 3 October to 8 November at their Cupola Hall. Evy Jokhova, Ode de Kort, and Tom Lovelace sought to confront the failure of fully grasping and investigate photographic beings as multidimensional, complex, and ambiguous.
In this Riga Photography Biennial exhibition, these international artists focused on exploring the facets of the object-image relationship; a connection that is traditionally viewed as stemming from an object and resulting in an image, is shown here to be more elaborate and intricate than it appears at first.
Image courtesy of The Latvian National Museum of Art
The works presented in the exhibition are in essence photographic, but they also sit outside of the usual boundaries of the medium. This show challenges the notion of what a photography exhibition is or can be, opting to discuss the photographic as a shifting lens and a notion that is primarily cultural. Through this, the exhibition not only explores the potential of a photographic work to open up the complexity of the object-to-image translation through responding to the specific space, but also investigates some of the very possibilities of photography.
Image courtesy of The Latvian National Museum of Art
The three artists confront the traditional views of photography and the object-image dichotomy. British artist Tom Lovelace’s work stimulates a creative dialogue between imagery and objects and posits itself as an intervention and interruption to the space’s regular existence. Belgian artist Ode de Kort adds to this dialogue by playfully uncovering the complexities of image-based re-presentation. Evy Jokhova uses the concept of mirroring in her consideration of reflection, mimicry and reproduction in photography. Focusing on these processes, she proposes to look at this essential function of photography from an unexpected angle.
Image courtesy of The Latvian National Museum of Art
Image courtesy of The Latvian National Museum of Art
About the Museum
The Latvian National Museum of Art is the largest depository of professional art in Latvia and takes an important place in collecting, preserving and popularizing the cultural values in Latvia and foreign countries. It regularly organizes art exhibitions, educational activities and cultural events. The objective of the activities of the Latvian National Museum of Art is educating society and stimulating its interest in the historical and artistic manifestations of Latvian and global visual art, decorative art and design, placing an emphasis on the national school of art and its place within the context of world cultural history and contemporary processes.
